Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

"This has been a long road and this is a moment, I think, of profound progress," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a recreation center in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn.
(Staten Island Advance/Jillian Jorgenen)

BROOKLYN -- The city will agree to a federal NYPD
monitor and will drop its appeal of a judge's finding that the NYPD had
unconstitutionally used its stop and frisk crime-fighting technique, Mayor Bill
de Blasio announced Thursday.

"This has been a long road and this is a moment, I think, of
profound progress," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a recreation center in the
Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The appeal of Judge Shira A. Scheindlin's ruling had been
filed by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- but de Blasio has long pledged to
reform stop and frisk and drop the appeal.

Stop and frisk was a major campaign issue in the mayor's
race. Minority groups have said they are unfairly targeted by the technique, as
the vast majority of stops happen to young black and Latino men -- and the vast
majority of those stopped are innocent.

Some in the city, including Staten Island Republicans, have
argued reforms like a federal monitor will make it difficult for police to
do their job of keeping crime at historic lows.

But de Blasio said the city could be safe without the
violation of civil rights. And Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has said he
believes stop and frisk is an effective law enforcement tool -- but when used
unfairly, can be the opposite.

"Instead of securing confidence, instead of securing
legitimacy and procedural justice in this city for the residents, it instead
has raised doubts and concerns about the police force in this city," Bratton
said.

As part of the agreement in the class action Floyd vs. the
City of New York case, the city will agree to a federal monitor of the
NYPD for three years. That's in addition to an Inspector General overseeing the
police force, as part of the Community Safety Act passed last year, which will be permanent.

The city will also participate in outreach with communities
on how to better relations.

"As soon as the federal court ratifies this agreement, we
will drop the appeal and also with the court's approval we will settle the
case," de Blasio said.

But City Councilman Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island) said he doesn't
believe an independent monitor is necessary and that stop and frisk is a
valuable tool.

"I believe the NYPD already has enough oversight -- after
the mayor's office, district attorneys, internal affairs," Matteo said. "I
don't want the NYPD to be handcuffed. Their job is to use every effective and
legal tool."

Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), who voted in favor
of the Community Safety Act that will establish the NYPD inspector general,
disagreed.

"The debate over police policies is not about
micro-managing the police who are called upon to make life and death split
second decisions," Ms. Rose said. "It is about legitimate oversight and making
our city safer through more effective use of the police in fighting crime."

Ms. Rose said she believes the increase in stop
and frisk is due to productivity goals set for police.

"In fact, I have spoken with numerous officers
who themselves are uncomfortable with this policy and the punitive actions that
result if they don't meet the productivity goals," Ms. Rose said.

Borough President James Oddo was the only borough president
who didn't praise de Blasio's decision in a press release. Oddo voted against
the Community Safety Act and said he agreed with Bloomberg's decision to appeal
the court's finding that the NYPD needed an independent monitor.

"That said, I trust that the de Blasio administration has
consulted with Commissioner Bratton and that this agreement has been sort of
vetted through his prism, and there's nothing in it that will constrain his
ability to run a department to keep us safe," Oddo said. "That's what I'm
holding on to."

Bratton said police could enforce the law without breaking
the law. Police and the people they serve are each one thread of the fabric of
a city, he said, and the tighter sewn, the better.

"In New York, because of this issue, that fabric has been
torn," he said. "We need to mend it. We need to repair it."

While it was a victory for advocates of reforming the
practice, some were cautious in their comments.

"Nobody standing here is pretending this is mission
accomplished. The problem has not been solved," Executive
Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights Vincent Warren said. "The reality is tomorrow a kid
may be humiliated on his way home from school. Or someone on their way to the store might get
stopped and frisked for no reason."

He urged advocates to keep up their work.

"Of course, we understand that the culture of the largest
police force in the country cannot change overnight," Donna Leiberman, executive
director of the New York Civil Liberties Union said. "But we all know that
change starts with the message from the top."